he team will be setting out on June 1st from John O'Groats on their journey to Lands End. The team will be averaging 120 miles each day until they arrive in Lands End just 7 days later hoping to of raised their target of £15,000. The team had originally planned to ride the same overall distance from London to Monaco in 9 days but to keep costs down and make the challenge harder it was changed to the JOGLE.
Jono is no stranger to fundraising, having been through multiple operations and having received great support from charities Jono knows first hand just how life changing they can be. It is with that knowledge that he has been fundraising since he can remember and is the foundation that lay beneath the ride. Jono's story is one of great hardship, courage and highlights a reality that humans possess the power to be both vicious and crushing as well as containing the compassion and support that can change lives.
Jono was born with a condition named Treacher Collins Syndrome, a condition which affects the way he looks. The condition affects people different but for Jono he wears a bone anchored hearing aid, due to his ears not developing properly as well as not having cheek bones, causing his eyes to droop downwards and leave him susceptible to eye infections. From birth his parents couldn't handle the condition and so placed him up for adoption. Jono was adopted and raised by a lady named Jean who had two children already in Claire and Stephen, all of which were instrumental in Jono's upbringing and who to this day he still considers to be heroes without whom he wouldn't know where he would be.
This continued through college and even extended into his work experience. Having always loved sport Jono found a placement working in a school but found the kids to be so horrible that he began to question how the future would look for him. He began to question whether or not he would ever get married or have kids and even whether he could get a decent job. During this low period for Jono, he met two people who would change his life forever, Ben was a friend who owned a bar and offered him a job. Jono accepted the job offer and after his first night he again went home in tears, the drunken public having once again shown their joy in humiliating him.
For some reason Jono decided to do another shift at the bar and this time found a different experience, there were still morons who laughed and mocked but he also found that in amongst that crowd were people who were genuinely interested in him and wanted to know about his condition. He began to enjoy the job and also began to get a positive experience with people too. Beth, who also worked at the bar, ended up going on a date with Jono and it was Beth who altered Jono's take on life completely. She told him that his face was interesting and it was those words that have to this day underpinned the new found confidence that Jono has. They didn't last as an item but the friendship and admiration has held true to this day. Jono has since gone on to work in the fitness industry, to love his face, love being unique and standing out, to thrive on attention rather than hide away and to share his life with people. Jono has been on BBC as the focus of documentaries and is a patron for the Life for a Kid charity. It is his experience of life and witnessing of the potential good that people can do that has inspired him to fundraise and the JOGLE ride was born from this.
Organising such a large event is a tough ask, especially with Jono already booked out with work and talking at schools. Queue the arrival of Kyle Hackett. Kyle is heading up the JOGLE ride with the help of Sole-Endurance, you can find out more about Sole-Endurance through their website and blog, to ensure that all of the preparations are in place and the ride will be a success. The team consists of 5 riders who can be found here all of whom are in training for the 120 miles per day of gruelling riding through the English countryside against headwinds.
You can follow the teams progress through this link and you can donate to their cause using the button below.
Itinerary:
Day 1: John O'Groats < 119miles > Inverness
Day 2: Inverness < 157miles > Edinburgh
Day 3: Edinburgh < 126miles > Shap
Day 4: Shap < 120miles > Whitchurch
Day 5: Whitchurch < 104miles > Dursley
Day 6: Dursley < 113miles > Okehampton
Day 7: Okehampton < 96.3miles > Lands End
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